Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-07-14

Bates His Hook for "a Mermaid and Catches
u Bad Dream.

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Bill Nye has been angling again for
the New York World. He says: Fish
NAV be divided into two great classes,
viz, fresh-water fish and saltwater
fish. Fresh-water fish are caught in
fresh water and saltwater fish are
taken in salt water 1t is from this
that each derives his or her name, as
the case may be. Up to about the
middle of this month the Goldfish is.
liable to bite if imposed upon. He
then ceases to DO SO until July, when
he again resumes The cod, when
taken from the water, is not ready for
market, as | had supposed, but IS in
very different condition from that in
which we find him at the inland
grocery stores.
Shortly after the cod is caught plain
men from the common walks Of life
remove bis works, after which he is
sailed and pressed in a large book like
an autumn leaf After this he enters
the home life of the American citizen
and fills the air full OF redolence.
/ went ont fishing the other day with
"A party of ladies and gentlemen on
board the Bay Ridge steamer. Be-
tween 1000 and 1900 sea bass were
taken in few hours off the Jersey
coast, though, strictly speaking, the
bass were not actually taken Of the
coast, but out of the wet.
The purser of the Bay Ridge, who
is very proud Of his boat, said that
she looked very we'll now, but not so
neat as he liked TO see her, because
people who caught fish mussed a boat
up so. Then everybody felt ashamed
of having caught fish and Uttered up
the boat except the author of these
lines.
! was going TO say that / did not
muss up his boat with anything in the
ush line, but did catch something on
Dthcr out Of the bottom Of the sea
lhat the captain said ne would call a
Tsh if it would make me feel any
jcttcr.
About II o'clock Il. m. as we were
standing off Sandy Hook and the pur-
ycyor of beer on the main deck, while
in -steenth latitude and not far from
the First National Cholera Banks, |
had bite With rare foresight | had
not only wrapped the cold and pulse
less features of the clam about by
hook in seductive manner, but had
given it dash of red pepper and n
squirt Of lemon juice, for fish are not
utterly without those finer feelings
which come 90 all of us, and | didn {
know but | could catch a mermaid.
Nothing would have pleased me more
Shan coming up Park row about &
o'clock with Il young and blithesome
mermaid hanging by willow Stringer
over my shoulder.
But s was something else that | got.
| called the attention of every one to
the fact that | had a bite. That
heightened the effect when | pulled to
the surface of the water speckled,
warty, rcd-eyed, foyerish fancy. II
was the kind of curiosity that anybody
can catch without going out of New
York llarbor, if he will use the right
kind of whisky. Most everybody
seemed pleased when | pulled the
nightmare out of the water 1t is sim
glilar how little it takes to amuso some
people.
/ was oncorcd, but could only bow
my thanks To the admiring audience
that threw clans at me aud seemed
real pleased Everybody else seemed
To enjoy it better than | did. That
was because everybody else didn't
have 10 reach down among the bron-
chial tubes of that marine toad and
get the hook out,
At first put my foot on him and
tried to secure the hook, but he felt Sc
queer under my foot and made such a
disawrceabic noise when ! stood on
him that left the hook hanging in
the roof of his mouth and bought an
other one
did not fish much more, though.
Once | tr.cd to catch something by
batting my hook with the eye of a
Wall street man who was fishing just
below me. but did not succeed
Then, a, the ship began To roll, Went
inside where could be alone.
was alone about an hour. commune
inc with myself aud bringing NJ
things that | had forgotten. But
will not write out for the World de-
sCripton of what was SO closely identl'
fled with myself, Vet of SO little inter
est To the world AT large. Every mar
has concealed within himself mucl
that he does not show TO his fellow
man. but sometimes think that ,
little trip on the bosom of the billowl
sea can do a great deaf toward break
ing up our naughty reserve, and real.
drawing MS out of ourselves.
/ had thought some of going abroa,
next year for the purpose of meeting
few foreign powers that cannot sc
away very we'll to come and see me
bnt have decided now that if | g
ut ALL it will be early in the spring
before navigation opeuS.
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